Waterfall at Milky Way Cave

Accession Number
2006/1.143

Title
Waterfall at Milky Way Cave

Artist(s)
Chang Ku-nien

Object Creation Date
1970-1990

Medium & Support
hanging scroll, ink on paper

Dimensions
5 ft. 1/4 in. x 24 13/16 in. (153 x 63 cm)

Credit Line
Gift of Ted and Syauchen Baker

Label copy
This painting is one of many in which Chang depicted
landmarks of Taiwan. These topographical paintings
acknowledge the cultural and social identity of Taiwan,
perpetuating and modernizing the literati (amateur scholarartist)
traditions of mainland China. The subject here is
the Milky Way Cave in the suburbs of the capital, Taipei. A
grove of bamboo stands in the middle ground. Beside it a
scholar, identifiable by his long robe and staff, walks down
a mountain path. Bamboo is a metaphor for a scholar and
hermit in Chinese art and literature, and a man wandering
in the mountains with a bamboo staff is often considered
to be a high-minded scholar who loves nature and lives a
reclusive life. The house-like structure up in the mountain
may be the scholar’s dwelling.
Fall 2015 Gallery Rotation

Subject matter
Ink painting landscape of a waterfall at Milky Way Cave, a topographical landmark in the suburbs of Taipei. A scholar, identifiable by his robe and staff, walks down a mountain path. The bamboo grove in the middle ground serves as a metaphor for the scholar/hermit in Chinese art and literature. As the scholar in this piece holds a bamboo staff, he is considered to be a high-minded scholar.

Physical Description
An intricate ecology of plants grows up this mountainside landscape. Two men walk in a clearing below a building. A waterfall flows downward on the upper left, below calligraphic text.

Primary Object Classification
Painting

Primary Object Type
hanging scroll

Additional Object Classification(s)
Painting

Rights
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Keywords
caves
hanging scrolls
ink
waterfalls (natural bodies of water)

1 Related Resource

Ink and Realisms
(Part of: Artist Associations and Art Movements)

& Author Notes

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